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THE MONEY STATS – BUY TO LET BONANZA

May 4, 2016

The Money Charity’s Money Stats are out today and they show a large rise in in lending during March, driven by a spike in buy-to-let mortgages.

With changes to stamp duty in April, buying second homes either to holiday in or let out has become more expensive. Knowing that this change was coming, thousands of property investors brought forward their plans, driving up mortgage lending.

More was lent to homeowners in March in any month since 2007. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, gross mortgage lending in March totaled an estimated £25.7 billion – 59% higher than March 2015, and 43% up on February.

This brought outstanding mortgage lending to £1.291 trillion at the end of the month, the highest it has ever been. The average outstanding mortgage debt per household is now £116,620.

Other key points from May’s Money Statistics include:

CPI (Consumer Prices Index) annual inflation stood at 0.5% in the year to March, up 0.2% from February.

Every day in Q4 2015, 47 mortgage possession claims were issued and 37 mortgage possession orders were made.

Total net lending to individuals by UK banks and building societies rose by £9.3 billion in March 2016 – or £300m a day.